English Canadian - Symbols

Symbols

English-speaking Canadians have not adopted symbols specific to themselves. Although English Canadians are attached to the Canadian Flag, it is the national flag and intended to be a symbol for all Canadians, regardless of ethnicity or language. The flag debate of 1965 revealed a strong attachment to the Canadian Red Ensign, previously flown as the flag of Canada prior to the adoption of the maple leaf in 1965. Even today, there is considerable support for use of the Red Ensign in certain specific circumstances, such as the commemoration ceremonies for the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

The maple leaf itself, as a symbol, was used as early as 1834 in what is now Quebec as a symbol of the Société St. Jean Baptiste but was adopted for use shortly afterwards by the English-speaking community in Canada. The Maple Leaf Forever, penned in 1867 at the time of Confederation was at one time regarded as an informal anthem for English Canadians, but reaction by English-speaking Canadians to a decision of a New Brunswick school to stop the singing of the anthem are attached to the official national anthem, O Canada, by Calixa Lavallée suggests that the official anthem enjoys considerable support.

The beaver is sometimes seen as another Canadian symbol, but is not necessarily specific to English Canadians. It too was used originally in connection with the Société St. Jean Baptiste before coming into currency as a more general Canadian symbol. In the 1973 political satire by Stanley Burke, Frog Fables & Beaver Tales, a spoof on Canadian politics of the Pierre Trudeau era, English Canadians are depicted in the main as well-meaning, but not terribly clever beavers (with other animals such as frogs, sea otters and gophers assigned to represent other linguistic and provincial populations). The historical relevance of the beaver stems from the early fur trade. It has been asserted that "he fur trade in general and the Hudson's Bay Company in particular exercised a profound influence on the sculpting of the Canadian soul."

The Crown has historically been an intangible but significant symbol for many English Canadians. Loyalty to Great Britain created the initial fracture lines between the populations of the Thirteen Colonies and the populations of Nova Scotia and Quebec at the time of the American Revolution and forced the flight of the Loyalists after the end of the war. As such English Canada developed in the nineteenth century along lines that continued to emphasize this historical attachment, evident in the naming of cities, parks and even whole provinces after members of the royal family, the retention of flags, badges and provincial mottos expressive of loyalty, and enthusiastic responses to royal visits. While such loyalty is no longer as powerful a unifying force as it once was among English Canadians, it continues to exert a noticeable influence on English Canadian culture. According to the author and political commentator Richard Gwyn while "he British connection has long vanished... it takes only a short dig down to the sedimentary layer once occupied by the Loyalists to locate the sources of a great many contemporary Canadian convictions and conventions." Gwyn considers that the modern equivalent of the once talismanic loyalty is "tolerance": "a quality now accepted almost universally as the feature that makes us a distinct people."